Last Train Home
by Jynx Tsilevon
Summary: Zack and Cloud's journey to make it back to Midgar...hopefully alive. The tale of Zack's last fight. Set pre-game.


**Author's Note:** Okay, I wrote this...and then heard that Last Order came out...So this is _my_ take on how Cloud and Zack made it out of the Shinra Mansion and back to Midgar. Italics are my version of the train ride to the first bombing mission (level one in FFVII). So, yeah, this is all set before the game and during the first level...Flames/Reviews/ideas for new FanFicts welcome:-)

**Disclamer: **DON'T SUE ME! I don't own Japan yet! I mean, I don't own these charracters or the video game franchise! Plot/some OC are mine though!

* * *

Last Train Home

"Well, the voices say it's safe. I must trust the voices," Zack

_Now boarding, last train to Midgar today, leaving in promptly five minutes. All passengers please make haste to board in an orderly manner._

Zack opened his eyes, trying to focus through the greenish liquid around him. How many days had it been since he'd seen the sky? Something told him four years, but he had no way to know if that was true. Four years…one thousand, four hundred, sixty days …eighty seven thousand, six hundred minutes…that's a lot of seconds…

His stomach growled, but he couldn't get up and get food. His head ached from lack of real sleep. His nose itched so dang back, but his hand was motionless at his side. But none of this mattered to him. Three things mattered to him: 1) the condition of Cloud, the poor kid stuck in the same mess somewhere around here. 2) How was Aries? He hopped she didn't think he'd left her, especially since it's been roughly four years since he last saw her. And 3) what went wrong with Sephirtoh? He couldn't even get himself to call the fool Commander or Sephy-san.

"_Damn that fool. This is his fault…All his fault…him and that crazed scientist, Hojo…Ug, I need to spit now…"_ Zack thought, moving his head to stretch out his neck just a bit. He looked down, seeing for the first time that his feet didn't touch the ground of the tank he was in. He also noticed that somehow he was able to breath through water.

Lost in his thoughts, Zack didn't notice the scientist he hated walk into the room. But when Hojo began to talk, Zack played guy in a coma and listened to the insane man speak.

"Amazing! Never did I expect to have these results!" Hojo gushed.

"_He's talking to himself…Creepy"'_ Zack thought.

"This one is totally unconscious, almost in a coma like state. His will is completely lost! The boy has given up and is waiting to die. Well, I did save him from death, didn't I? Nasty hole in his little heart, if I do remember correctly. Nasty little hole…" Hojo continued. Zack's eyes shot open.

"Cloud!" he yelled, but the minute he opened his mouth, water rushed in to fill the open space. Zack coughed and sputtered, thinking he was going to die from water intake. Sewage water intake, but the taste of this stuff. Hojo moved his gaze from the tube Zack knew had Cloud in it to stare at him. Zack glared back, wishing the deadliest, most painful, most humiliating doom he could think of for the man…thing….creature. He had no idea what to call Hojo besides a monster, but that insulted the dragons and zoloms out there who were known as monsters.

"And _you_…" Hojo sneered, acting like Zack was a disease instead of a person, and "You haven't reacted at all… What went wrong? For the Jenova Reunion Theory to be correct, you should be responding in some way!" Zack's wine colored eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Horrible memories of Nibilhiem burning ran through his mind. The last thing he wanted to hear was anything about Jenova. For all he knew, that was the reason Sephiroth went insane. Something about that dead thing being his mother…

Hojo continued to ramble, but Zack didn't hear it. From that moment on, he was planning his escape. Not just his, though. He was going to make the most daring escape in his lifetime. He and Cloud were going to get out of here, matter what it took.

No matter what it took…

_The last train leaving for Midgar is departing. Any last minute travelers must board now or they will be left behind. Repeat: The last train leaving for Midgar…_

No one expected it. Not even Zack. His instinct took over the minute the man opened the tank to give him food. Why give the dead food? Zack didn't think. He just acted. He reached out and grabbed the man by his neck, throwing him into the wall and knocking him unconscious. Then he stepped out to the first breath of freedom in four years.

Then his plan kicked in. Whipping around, Zack looked for his blonde haired buddy. What he found both saddened and amazed him.

Cloud, the shy Shinra Grunt that Zack had taken a liking to, was floating lifeless in the same type of tube Zack had been in. His Mako blue eyes where hidden behind closed eyelids. His spiky blonde hair was in its natural disoriented state, as always. He was taller than Zack remembered, and he was only wearing the pants from his old uniform. Zack guessed he'd grown out of the rest of the uniform, and the pants were too short on him anyway.

Zack tapped on the glass, hoping his friend was still alive.

"Cloud? Wake up, buddy. It's me, Zack…" No reply, no movement from inside the glass. "Come on, Spiky! It's me…don't die on me, Cloud. Wake up…" Zack begged, wondering where all this emotion came from.

"_Zack?..."_ Zack looked around. Someone had said something, but no one was in the room. No one conscious, that is.

"Huh?"

"_Help…Zack…help…"_ Zack looked back toward the tank and just about screamed. One blue eye stared helplessly back at him, and the hand of his friend was placed against the glass, trying to get out. It was then Zack remembered Cloud was claustrophobic.

"_Help! Please, help me!"_ Zack didn't know how Cloud was talking to him, but it didn't matter to him anymore. All he cared about was getting his friend out before he had a heart attack or died from fright. So he did the first thing that came to his mind.

Zack backed up and then jump kicked the glass. Nothing. He tried again. Still nothing. Angry, he yelled and slammed into the glass with his fist. The glass gave and green liquid spilled onto the floor, followed by a semi-conscious Shinra Grunt.

"Hey, you alright?" Cloud looked around, dazed.

"Where….am I?" Zack was taken aback for a moment, but he shrugged that off.

"You're in the Shinra Mansion in Nibilhiem, Cloud," he answered.

"I'm in the what in where?" Cloud asked, before falling back to the floor in a fit of coughing. Zack let him cough, thinking he was trying to get that awful liquid out of his system. When he stopped, Zack held out a hand to help him up. Cloud took it and staggered to his feet. After about a minute, he let go, took two steps, and met the ground again with a loud crash.

"You stay there then….I'll go find you some clothes and my sword…"Zack said, looking around.

"You have a sword? Can I see it?" Cloud asked hopefully. Zack stared at the kid for a minute, confused. He then shook his head and went off.

He found his sword in an old closet full to the brim with papers, old test tubes, and other assortments of junk that could be found in a lab. Pulling out his sword sent most of it tumbling to the ground, but Zack didn't stop to pick it up. He backed up, now looking for clothes for his friend. Something tacked on the wall caught his eye first, though. Well, a few things, actually.

The first was a calendar. He looked at it carefully and sighed. He'd been right. They had been stuck in this place for four years. _"Aries is going to kill me…"_ he thought, moaning. His eyes then moved to the thing stapled up next to the calendar.

A newspaper article from the Shinra Times. Upon further inspection, he gulped. It was the article explaining the destruction of Nibilhiem, and the obituary section. To his surprise, the article was mostly true. It even explained that the reason Nibilhiem had burned was because the SOLDIER Commander had gone nuts. Of course, there wasn't any names associated with the Commander, but anyone with half a brain knew who he was. As his eyes moved down the article, his frown deepened.

"Aries can't kill me…" he said quietly, pointing at the obituary near the bottom, "'Cause I'm already dead…." This much was true, at least in the paper. Near the bottom, there were three obituaries for the one SOLDIER and two Shinra Grunts who'd never been found in the wreckage. The SOLDIER was him, and the two Shinra Grunts were Cloud and another friend of Zack's by the name of Colby. But Colby hadn't died in the fire. Zack knew that much. His friend had fallen from the top of Mount. Nible when the bridge collapsed. Sephiroth had said there wasn't any time to look for him. Cloud went back anyway…later at least. He smiled.

"Colby was alive…but Cloud kept that a secret and got him out of the town and to the best infirmary near Midgar… I'm the only one who knows, it seems…" Finally, his eyes reached the last item tacked to the wall. Just barely hanging on, it seemed. The paper was old and torn and was yellowing with age. Most of the writing on it was fading and hard to read. Zack carefully took it from the wall and read the top.

"Agent…V. Valentine… An experiment…dead and hidden…still alive…Something more I can't read…." Zack said, squinting in the light. Instead of putting it back, though, Zack folded the paper and placed it carefully in his pocket for later inspection. Right now, he needed to get Cloud some clothes and get the heck out of here.

"How can something be alive _and_ dead?" Zack mused, finally finding Cloud an old SOLDIER uniform that was stored in a coat closet. It looked like it would fit him now. He walked back towards Cloud, still thinking of how to get out.

"Hey Zack…..Are we brothers?" Cloud asked quietly, breaking the silence. That was when Zack knew there was something wrong.

"No…." Zack replied, handing Cloud the uniform and turning so he could change in some privacy. He heard him struggle to his feet and changed quietly before falling back on the ground. Zack turned around and helped his friend up, putting his arm around his shoulder to keep him standing.

"Then….why are we both….here?" Cloud asked, coughing again.

"We were both betrayed by our Commander. Don't you remember, Cloud? You and I fought him together."

"So….I'm a SOLDIER?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah…well, not exactly….I'm really not sure now, actually…" Zack answered. Cloud looked confused but dropped the subject.

"Can you believe you're twenty years old, Cloud?" Zack asked, beginning to walk forward and out of the room.

"I am?" Cloud asked, "When did that happen?"

"It's been four years. I'm twenty two. I can't believe it either…Aries is going to kill me. You remember Aries, right?"

"Aries…? She's….your friend…right?" Cloud struggled to find words that went with the name Aries. He kept pulling up blanks.

"Yeah. She's my friend." Zack said sadly, wishing he could help his friend regain his lost memory. He thought for a moment when he reached the door. Before opening it, he asked "Cloud…do you remember Tifa?" Cloud was silent for a moment.

"Ti..fa? Tifa….Lockheart….from…..from…." Cloud went silent again, once again searching his memory for anything that had to do with Tifa Lockheart.

"Yeah. Tifa's your girlfriend, Cloud. Or, she was. Four years ago…" Zack stated.

"I had a girlfriend?" Cloud looked bewildered. "I don't remember that." Zack pushed the door to the lab open and looked back around once more. It wasn't a lab, Zack noticed, it was a library. The same library where Sephiroth had lost it.

"This is where…Seph…Sephi…Sephiroth….went…insane?" Cloud tried to say.

"Yeah. This was where the end began," Zack replied.

"You are correct, SOLDIER." Zack looked up, mortified. They were halfway down the hallway, but their only escape was cut off by Hojo and twenty other Shinra Soldiers. Normally, this would have been a walk in the park for Zack. A use the scientist as a bowling ball and the Grunts as pins kind of thing. But Cloud was in no condition to fight, and Zack felt about as agile as a tortoise right now.

"Why don't you go back to your little tube now…" Hojo coaxed. "You two are not able to fight…" Zack sneered at him.

"We are not your experiments!" he yelled, the walls shaking.

"Your bark is worse than your bite…" Hojo mocked.

"Shut up, Hojo!" Cloud commanded weakly.

"Oh, so you remember me, boy?" Cloud groaned, as if he was in pain by the question.

"Attack! They can't fight back!" Hojo ordered. The Shinra Soldiers ran at Zack, leaving him feeling cornered in open space. He dove to the side, bringing Cloud with him and trying to find a room or anything to hide in.

"_In here…"_ Not again! More voices in his head! Zack was beginning to think he'd lost it.

"_You're not insane. Open to door! You can hide in here!" _Zack looked around, seeing a thick steel door behind him.

"Well, the voices say it's safe. I must trust the voices," Zack muttered, pushing the door open. The minute he was inside it slammed shut behind him, leaving him and Cloud stuck in the dark.

"Thanks, Voices! Now we're trapped!" Zack scoffed, turning around from the door. Again he had a close to screaming moment when he was facing away from the door. He stared into the darkness. Two bright red eyes stared back. Zack gave up on not screaming.

"Ah!" he yelled, jumping back and hitting his head on the steel door. Cloud came with him, but was lucky and leaned forward right as Zack hit the door, keeping himself from getting injured.

"You're welcome…" the red eyed thing said.

"Wha?"

"The voices say you're welcome…"

"You were in my head?"

"For a moment…" The creature moved forward just a bit, allowing Zack to see its face but nothing else. He found himself staring at the head of a man, not a creature. Instinctively, Zack reached into his pocket, pulling out the paper he'd found on the wall.

"You're this guy, aren't you? Agent V. Valentine?" Zack held the paper out for the man to inspect.

"Vincent…" the man stated. Zack guessed that was his first name, not V. Vincent took the paper, and read it for a moment. Then, to Zack's amazement, the paper turned black and then burst into flames.

"I'm going to kill him…" Vincent sneered, his calmness evaporating like snow in the Sahara Desert. "That damned scientist! I'll rip him to pieces!" Zack noticed that Vincent's red eyes were now a very piercing yellow.

"Ok…Someone has MPD…" Zack said, wishing he could back up farther.

"You could call it that…" Calm Vincent returned, red eyes with him. Zack relaxed just a bit, but he was still spooked.

"Vincent…can Vincent help us?" Cloud asked, quiet voice echoing in the dark room.

"Who's that?" Vincent asked.

"My friend. He's very sick and I have to get him to Midgar. Can you help us get away from the soldiers outside?" Zack answered quickly.

"I'm….sick?" Cloud asked. Zack didn't answer. He just stared back at Vincent, praying he could help.

"I'll help…get out of the way…" Vincent pointed at the door as soon as Zack pulled Cloud and himself out of the way. The door flew open, catching quiet a few soldiers off guard as they were hit with thick, heavy steel. Zack yelled a thank you and bolted, heading for the stairs. He didn't look back until he was in the back yard of the building. He paused, seeing Vincent standing in the second story window, watching him. The spirit disappeared, leaving a bewildered Zack standing in the empty space of the back yard.

That's when they open fired.

Zack dove for the cover of trees, Cloud falling to the ground in the shade of the trees. It was dark, no moon shone in the sky. Zack unhooked the sword from his back and looked out of the bushes, waiting. The soldiers swarmed into the backyard, unaware of the one man ambush waiting for them in the trees.

"Where did he go?!" yelled one. Zack guessed he was the commander. Squinting, he recognized who it was.

"No way…it's Jet….when did he become a commander?!" Zack muttered. The commander, Jet, looked up, seeing Zack's eyes glowing in the darkness.

"There he is!" Jet yelled. The soldiers immediately turned and began to charge. Zack, remembering he was on guard duty for his semi-conscious friend, tore from the bushes and straight at Jet. Jet was ready, to Zack's surprise. He met Zack's attack with a rapid secession of blocks and attacks that seemed too skilled for a man of his rank.

"Jet! It's me!" Zack said, while dodging blows that could have easily broken a few bones. "I'm Zack! Your old friend!"

"Don't lie…" Jet sneered, "Zack died four years ago…" Zack backed up, anger raging.

"DO I LOOK DEAD TO YOU?!" he yelled. The break in his concentration allowed Jet to land a blow that sent Zack to his knees.

"No. You look like a lost experiment…" Jet said, standing over him, gun to his head. "It's a shame I can't kill you."

"Sir! We found the other one!" another soldier yelled. "He don't look to good, Sir…" Zack looked over in horror, seeing Cloud dragged from his hiding space, unable to fight.

"Leave him there. If he dies, it isn't our problem," Jet replied. The soldier dropped Cloud and returned to his post near the group.

"Why don't you just kill me too?" Zack sneered.

"I have orders to keep you safe, Experiment," Jet replied.

"I don't need you to guarantee my safety…" Zack said quietly, suddenly back-flipping to his feet, kicking Jet in the face and causing him to fly back a few feet. Zack's sword glowed blue as he jumped into the air.

"ALL I WANT IS FREEDOM!" he yelled, a powerful Blade Beam flying from his sword and towards all the soldiers, including Jet, so neatly lined up for destruction. Cloud opened his eye at this moment, watching with amazement at the Limit Break that came from Zack. He smiled and shut his eyes again.

"I'll remember that one…" he mused to himself.

Zack landed, looking at the scene in front of him. Everything he'd hit was wounded or dead. Jet had gotten the worst of it. His corpse was a mangled mess; it almost hurt Zack to look at it.

"Sorry Jet…" he whispered, bowing his head.

"For what, Experiment?" Jet asked, standing up. Zack backed up, horrified.

"What the hell?!" he shouted, watching as Jet popped his shoulder, which was sticking out of his side, back into place. He did that with other misplaced body parts until it looked like he hadn't been hit at all. About ten others got back on their feet. One man, who was missing an arm, got up and shook the stump. Zack watched with pure antipathy at the ligament grew back to bring forth a totally new arm.

Zack looked at the soldiers standing. They were an undead army, and he was totally helpless. He looked at the soldiers that didn't survive and felt his lunch from however long ago he'd eaten begin to come back up. One soldier, who's helmet had literally exploded, was laying a few feet in front of him, giving him a clear view of the face.

_It was a survivor from Nibiliem!_

"What the…What's happened to you?!" he yelled at Jet. Jet just smiled and began to laugh, sending shivers down Zack's spine. The laugh was _exactly_ like Sephiroth's.

"I'm glad to see you're alright, _Zack_…" Jet sneered. But it wasn't Jet who was talking anymore. No, it was someone else. Zack could tell by Jet's eyes.

"No…You….You're dead!" Zack hissed. Jet may have been standing there, but Zack didn't see him anymore. He saw Commander Sephiroth, the One-Winged Angel.

"Good to see you, Zack. What is Cloud doing?" Sephiroth said, speaking through Jet. "Is he decomposing in the ground?"

"No. He's alive and well, no thanks to you!"

"Alive and well? He can't even stand up…" Sephiroth laughed. Zack began to wonder all over again if he'd lost his mind.

"Shut up…" Zack whispered.

"What? Speak up, I can't hear you…"

"SHUT UP!" Zack ordered. He backed away, staring at the blurry form of Sephiroth in front of him. He decided then that some battles in life you just can't win. That's when you run. Zack picked up Cloud and bolted, Sephiroth's laughter ringing out behind him.

_Passengers, please pull out your identification cards and tickets. We are approaching the checkpoint. All unauthorized passengers will be thrown off the train. SOLDIERs will be coming by shortly. Thank you for your corporation. _

"You know what I'm going to do when I get to Midgar?" Zack asked, trudging along slowly. He was exhausted and hungry, but found trying to get Cloud to remember his past more enjoyable than worrying about food or sleep.

"What?" Cloud asked weakly. His condition was slowly getting worse. One word replies were more common than full sentences now. Zack was lucky to even get two words out of Cloud before he'd be plagued by silence of only his friend's breathing.

"Give Aries a long, deep kiss…" Zack said dreamily. Thinking about his old friends and people he loved was a great escape from the looming surroundings he was walking through. Cloud laughed faintly next to him.

"Yup. That's what I'm going to do…maybe more than one, if her mom doesn't kill me," Zack went on, smiling. "Oh, you have to promise me that the minute you see Tifa, you got to giver her a kiss, kay?" Cloud went ridged with embarrassment next to him.

"I….do?"

"Ok, ok, you can give her a hug. But you have to do it, ok?"

"I promise…" Cloud replied, blushing.

That was enough for Zack.

_We are now departing the checkpoint. Any new passengers, please find your seats and prepare for departure. _

"_We barely made it through…" _

"_Quiet, mercenary, you'll get us caught."_

"_Yeah, __**I'll**__ get us caught…__**Right**__…"_

"Crap…I forgot to plan how to get across the sea…" Zack muttered to himself, looking around the port. It wasn't Costal de Sol, going there would have caused too much trouble. Zack had instead gone to a small port city, little known and far from Shinra's watching eyes. Cloud had walked into the port beside Zack instead of making of making the SOLDIER carry him. But, the minute they'd stopped to rest he'd collapsed again. Zack was worried about his spiky haired friend. He didn't seem to be getting any better.

"Don't die on me, Cloud…" he whispered.

"Hey, kid! If you don't have a ticket for a boat, get off the dock!" someone yelled. Not wanting to get in any trouble, Zack stood up and was about to help Cloud up when a new voice caught his attention.

"There you are! You know how long I've been looking for ya?" Zack turned around and found himself face to face with another man. He had graying black hair and sharp green eyes. His clothes were causal: blue jeans, a white and red short sleeved t-shirt and normal worker boots.

"Huh?" Zack asked.

"Crap! Did he faint again?!" the man continued, looking over Zack's shoulder at Cloud. "Poor kid. Knew my nephew was sick the minute I picked him up." The man walked over to Cloud, opening his eye lids and looking at the Mako blue eyes dilated underneath. The man whistled like he was amazed and sighed. Then he bent down and put the semi-conscious kid's arm around his neck, helping him to his feet. He then nodded to Zack, beginning to walk towards the dock.

"Hey! You need a ticket to get on these docks!" It was the crabby dock keeper again.

"I gots me a ticket." The man holding Cloud aloft replied.

"Those two don't."

"What? My son and nephew? They do to, Sir. I have the tickets in my pocket." The man dug into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out three tickets. The dock keeper inspected them and nodded.

"Sorry Sam, didn't know you had a son. Or a nephew, for that matter…" the dock keeper said.

"There's a lot you don't know about me! Now, outa the way, I gots a boat to catch…" Sam replied, walking past the dock keeper. Zack stood there, mystified.

"Zack, you comin' or not? I'm not leaving my only son, but if you don't hurry it up, your cousin's gonna keel over before we gets to Midgar!" Sam yelled. Zack hurried to catch up with the man, still confused. When they were far enough away, Zack finally asked him what was going on.

"Who are you? How did you know my name?" Zack asked. The man didn't reply at first. He looked at Zack and grinned.

"Ya want to get to Midgar, right? You're that run-away SOLDIER from Nibilhiem. Your picture's all over the important towns, but it ain't here. I'm a transporter. I take stuff to places. It's my job. I'm headin' to Kalm now with a delivery. Midgar's close. I'll drop you off." He pointed to a truck on the back of a ferry headed for the other continent. "I'm Sam, by the way. I know yer Zack, but who's your half-dead buddy?"

"Cloud…" Cloud whispered hoarsely, "Pleasure….to….make…" He didn't finish the sentence with words, but with a fit of coughing.

"He's Cloud and he's happy to meet you. Now is there any place he can lay down?" Zack asked, highly concerned for his friend. "Wait…you're not going to turn us in for money?" Sam laughed, laying Cloud in the bed of the truck before turning back to Zack.

"Ye kidding? I hate the Shinra! Those no good fools let Nibilhiem burn to the ground and let all them people die. Then they just rebuilt the place, tryin' to pretend nothin's wrong," Sam replied, "I used to do deliveries there all the time. Nice people. Now that you mention it…I think I do remember this kid hangin' around there…"

"Wouldn't surprise me, Sir. Cloud used to live there before he joined SOLDIER."

"Poor kid…" Sam said for the second time, "got back in time to watch it burn."

All Cloud heard was that he used to live in Nibilhiem and that he'd joined SOLDIER. Everything else was lost to the sea of his mind.

_Passengers, you are reminded to stay in your seats and not get up to much during this trip. There have been frequent terrorist attacks that have been stopped, but some damage to the railways has occurred. Please remain seated for your safety._

"_Frequent terrorist attacks? They're talkin' about you, aren't they?"_

"_I said quiet, Mercenary!"_

No problems the whole trip across the sea. Cloud didn't even get motion sick, to Zack's surprise. Zack watched the waves with little interest, longing to see Aries again. He promised himself that he'd see her again, no matter how long it took or what happened before he got there. And even if she'd moved on, he'd still stop by to check on her. God he missed her.

_We have arrived at Sector 4 station. Those departing or boarding please do so quickly. Those going to Sectors 1, 2, or 3 please stay aboard. Your stops will be arriving momentarily._

"_We're goin' to Sector 1, right?" _

"_Of course! Why do you ask so many questions? You're worse than a girl. I'm surprised a man like you can call yourself a mercenary!"_

"_Hey! As the only girl on this team, I feel discriminated against by the comment previously stated by…"_

"_Shhh! We're gonna get caught!"_

"_Just pray the Turks aren't lookin' for us…"_

"_You're gonna jinx us!"_

"Tseng, we have a mission…" Reno walked into Tseng's office, waiting for a reply from his boss.

"What is it this time, Reno?" Tseng replied, not turning around in his chair. He faced the dark city of Midgar, atmosphere fitting his mood.

"Two run-away experiments of Hojo's. One's a fully trained First Class SOLDIER. The other's walking dead…" Reno replied, throwing the file on Tseng's desk and sitting down, putting his feet on the desk as well.

"Feet off," Tseng said crossly. Reno sneered but obeyed, drumming his fingers on the table.

"They can't find them either. The SOLDIER killed about fifteen guards when he sprung his prison. He took his buddy with him, too. There are pictures in the file. We have to find them and bring 'um back, dead or alive…Our choice." Tseng picked up the file and began leafing through it. He stopped at the picture of the SOLDIER, muscles tensing. His eyes scanned the page again and again, not believing what he was reading.

"Reno, get Rude and a few others and give them the orders. We're taking these two alive," Tseng said calmly.

"A-Alive? Are you nuts? The SOLDIER has already killed fifteen people! He'll blow through us!" Reno replied, shocked.

"Reno, do it!" Tseng said, voice rising slightly. Reno scrambled out of his chair and fell to the floor, regaining his footing and running from the room. He knew something about Tseng few others did. Tseng had trouble controlling his anger. If you got him angry, even just a little bit, someone was bound to get hurt.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him…" Tseng looked up from his desk, jumping slightly.

"Rude…where did you come from?"

"I've been standing by the door," the bald Turk replied. "Is one of these guys your friend, Tseng? You seem troubled…"

"No…it's just….I know this guy…" Tseng said, pointing at a picture of Zack, "He's a friend of a friend…"

"Aries' boyfriend?" Rude mused. Tseng looked away.

"Maybe. I wouldn't know. Anyway, he was supposed to be dead…dying four years ago…" Tseng said, "but now he's back…"

"And you want him to be taken in alive to give him a chance to see Aries one more time?" Rude considered. Tseng wouldn't make contact with Rude.

"We'll take him alive, Sir. It's the soldiers you'll have to worry about…"

"That's why I'm coming, Rude. Make the announcement, and make sure Reno isn't cowering in his office," Tseng ordered. Rude nodded and went to fulfill his duty.

But Reno was right, and Rude knew it. It was dangerous for Tseng to be coming on this mission if he felt any emotion towards one of the runaways. If something went wrong…how would he react? Rude sighed, worried. Because he knew what Tseng would do if something went wrong.

Tseng was a time bomb. If something went wrong, that timer would begin to count down.

_Passengers, we are now arriving at Sector 3. Those going to Sectors 1 or 2, please stay aboard. Passengers boarding or disembarking, please do so quickly._

"_Hey, Girl, what do you do on this team?"_

"_Well, I'm in charge of the technical aspect. You know, the explosives, hacking, dynamite….The flashy stuff. Oh, and stop calling me 'Girl'. My name is…"_

"Hey, Pops! What's today's date?" Zack yelled, tapping on the glass that separated Sam from him and Cloud. Sam pointed to the steering wheel and then to the road. Zack guessed he was trying to say "I have to drive, not answer your stupid questions."

Zack waited patiently to see if Sam did anything else. Then he noticed the calendar sitting on Sam's front seat. According to that…

"Cloud, it's my birthday!" Zack yelled excitedly. "Good God, I'm twenty three!" Cloud looked up from where he was sitting. Zack forced himself to keep smiling, even though it hurt when he looked at Cloud like this. The poor kid was steadily getting worse. He could hardly talk anymore, he was so weak. Now he'd just be lying in the bed of the truck next to him, unable to move his head more than to look up or lay it on his shoulder. Zack was worried that he'd die before they even made it halfway to Midgar.

"Happy…..Birthday…" Cloud said, trying to smile. It was such a rare action for Zack to see. That made Cloud's attempt to smile one of the best birthday gifts Zack had ever received. (Nothing could compare to when he'd gotten his first kiss from Aries back when he turned seventeen, though)

"Yeah, only two more months and you'll be twenty one, Spiky! That means we'll be able ta drink together, ya know?" Zack said, trying to make the kid laugh. It worked, though he could only barely hear the faint laughter coming from his friend.

"Right…." Cloud struggled to spit out, "Two more….months…"

Inside the truck, Sam sighed as he watched the two talk. Anyone who looked in the way Zack had done would have seen Sam driving and nothing else. But Sam could see something, well…someone, others couldn't.

"I feel for the kid…" Sam muttered, as if talking to himself. "He probably could have been somethin' great if Hojo hadn't a messed with him.."

"Hojo screws up everyone's life…" said a voice beside him. Sam looked over at the spirit sitting in the front passenger's seat. Well, more like floating above it. It was a middle aged man, probably died in his early forties. He had what looked like graying brown hair and very intelligent looking green eyes. His outfit was that of a scientist. He wore a long white lab coat over black khaki pants and shined boots. His shirt was a longed sleeved collared shirt, white in color and perfectly ironed. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about this man except for the fact that he was transparent and there was a hole in the shirt and lab coat directly over his heart.

"Hojo the guy who shot ya?" Sam asked, eyeing the hole with interest.

"Yes…" the man replied, rolling his eyes.

"Got a name?" Sam asked.

"Professor Gast…"

"Holy…yer kiddin' me!"

"I wish I wasn't…" Gast replied, sighing, "I wish I wasn't…" Sam went silent for a moment, staring at the once highly esteemed professor.

"Why're ya gonin' ta Midgar? Most spirits head skyward, don't they?"

"My daughter's there. I never got to see her grow up…I just wanted to say goodbye, I guess…" the Professor confessed.

"How'd ya know she's in Midgar?" Sam asked.

"Because the black haired SOLDIER you're carting around has said her name seven times…"

"Anyway, I seriously hope Aries doesn't kill me…" Zack was saying outside.

"Eight times in the last two hours…" Gast finished, turning to look at Zack for a moment.

"Yeah, well that kid's madly in love with your daughter. Don't haunt 'im for it. By the sounds of it, he can't help it."

"I won't…At least someone like him can keep her safe, right?"

"Right, Professor…" Sam said, nodding, "Right you are…"

_Now arriving at Sector 2 station. Sector 1 passengers, you have to wait only one more stop. Thank you for your patience._

"_Good God, this is takin' forever!"_

"_Look, Gun arm, not everything revolves around you. Patience is a…"_

"_Don't wise talk me, Mercenary! I won't take it!"_

"_Fine…Don't freak out on me…"_

"I'll have to find a job when we get to Midgar…" Zack said, grinning. "I should probably do something that I'll be good at…" Cloud laughed quietly. Zack glared at him and stood up carefully. He walked over to the divider between him and the driving cab and him and knocked on it.

"What?!" Sam asked, though he was already laughing, like Cloud. He'd heard the conversation and been thinking along the same lines as Cloud. Zack was good at being something besides annoying?

"What do you think I should do when I get to Midgar? Job wise, I mean."

"You should probably do something that exploits your skills…" Sam replied, "Like a family man or something…" Next to him, Gast went ridged. He gave Sam the 'That's-not-funny-in-any-way" look. Sam just grinned.

Zack didn't hear the end of Sam's suggestion. He only heard the part about exploiting his skills. He thought about those words for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"I got it! I'll be a mercenary!" Zack said, smiling.

"That's not what I meant!" Sam yelled, shaking his head. Zack sat down next to Cloud again.

"I think I'll live with Aries, if she doesn't mind. Yeah…That'll be nice…" Zack continued. "Oh, crap. The mom lives there too. Well, that was a short lived dream." Sam laughed at Gast's sad attempt to keep himself from giving Zack a piece of his mind.

"So what you gonin' to do when we get to Midgar?" he asked Cloud, smiling. Cloud looked up at him, mortified.

"Ha! I'm just kiddin', Cloud! Don't worry. You're going to get better and we'll go be mercenaries together. I wouldn't leave you to die." Zack said, ruffling Cloud's already messed up hair. Cloud smiled again, looking up at him like he would a brother.

"We're friends, right?" Zack said, smiling. Cloud nodded.

"We're friends…" Cloud repeated.

_Now arriving at Sector 1 station. Those disembarking, prepare…_

"_Everyone ready?" _

"_On my mark…" The Mercenary grinned, waiting for the count down._

"_Three….two…"_

"_Ready, steady, go!" _

Zack knew there was something wrong the day he woke up. It had been three months since they'd hit the road, almost a year after they'd sprung their prison back at Nibiliem. Zack couldn't believe Cloud was twenty one, or that they were almost home. It was too good to be true.

So, when his SOLDIER trained ears heard the blades of a helicopter slicing through the air, he slowly saw his dream of getting home evaporate.

"Zack? Are you…Ok?" Cloud asked. "Is everything…going to be…ok?" Zack knew it. Cloud could hear them too.

"Yeah, Cloud. Don't worry. You're going to make it to Midgar." Cloud didn't notice Zack's choice of words. Because, as Zack watched the helicopter slowly come into view, he knew one of them weren't going to make it alive. So he'd made a choice.

"I love you Aries…" Zack whispered, before yelling to Sam. "STOP THE CAR." Sam slammed on the breaks and Cloud and Zack flew out of the bed.

"What?! Where are you guys going?!" Sam yelled as Zack picked up Cloud and began his trek across the wasteland.

"Cloud's going home!" Zack yelled back. Sam looked out of the driver's window, confused. Zack's decision on who was going to get home alive and who was going to the Lifestream had been simple.

Cloud would be the one who lived. Zack would just protect him as far as he could go.

"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Reno scoffed. He's been driving like a maniac to catch up to Rude. It wasn't fair that his partner was in a helicopter, though. Of course, Rude had spotted the SOLDIER and his pal days before the red head Turk had even known they were headed towards Midgar. Now he and Tseng were going in for a full ambush. From both the sky and the ground.

"Just drive, Reno…" Tseng said, re-checking his gun for the fifth time.

"What are you nervous about?" Reno retorted. "They ain't going to kill you. I'll be in front, remember. Damn, why did I have to pick a close range weapon…"

"If everything goes right, we're not going to fight…" Tseng said.

"Wha…"

"Rude, do you see them?" Tseng said into his walkie-talkie, cutting Reno off.

"Yes Sir…" Rude said over the static, we're going to actually catch up…wait, weren't they in a car a minute ago?" Reno asked.

"They just jumped from the car and are heading across the Wasteland on foot. They are heading past the mountains that lead to the last stretch of nothing until you reach Midgar…" a girl's voice rang over the static. It was the girl Turk Tseng had sent with Rude. She was driving, by the sound of it.

"Lani, are you sure?" Reno asked, "Are they nuts?"

"Maybe, Reno. The SOLDIER is running…Shitake mushrooms! He knows we're after him…."

"How do you know?" Tseng ordered.

"He just waved…" Rude replied. Silence came from both sides of the walkie-talkies. Tseng was the first to recover.

"Change of plans. Don't let them out of your sight. Reno, floor it!" Tseng ordered. Reno shook his head.

"Right…one thing though, Tseng…WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING? MY FOOT ISN'T EVEN ON THE BRAKE ANYMORE!" Reno replied.

"Then I suggest you make this go faster or I'll start getting rid of weight to make it go faster, starting with you…" Tseng warned. Reno grumbled about something, but Tseng didn't hear it. The car lurched forward, speeding towards the edge of the Wasteland were Zack was trying to escape. Tseng smiled, starting the timer on his watch. That timer meant something different for Reno, Rude, and the Turk named Lani.

The countdown had begun.

"Ok, we're almost there. Five more miles, and we're half way to Midgar…" Zack said, more to himself than Cloud. Cloud was out cold, only thing that keyed Zack in that he was still alive was his shallow breathing. He had a bad feeling that Cloud was dying, and dying fast.

"Don't die on me buddy…We're so close…" he almost whined as he spoke. Every part of him hurt, but in the immense heat, he was surprisingly cool. He didn't know that Professor Gast was tailing behind him, walking quickly to keep pace with the SOLDIER. It was keeping Zack cool, which was actually making his march easier.

"Just keep walking, kid…" Gast whispered. He'd actually grown to like this cocky SOLDIER. Zack couldn't hear him, though. Not over the sound of the chopper.

"Oh crap…no….Damn, the Turks are after us, Cloud…" Zack said, breaking into a run. Lani controlled the helicopter, preparing to land it. The two Turks aboard were told they were needed on the ground, not the air. Tseng's jeep was in sight, Reno driving like mad to catch up. Following him was a battalion of Soldiers. To Zack's horror, their commander was the one and only Jet.

Zack was pushing himself to the limit. He couldn't hold out much longer, but he couldn't stand and fight. That would leave Cloud defenseless. He then found himself cornered. Behind him, there were around fifty soldiers and four Turks. In front of him was a cliff. It was the last mountain before the desolate walk of the Wasteland. Midgar was so close, Zack could see it. Sadly, he turned to face his assailants, moving Cloud from his shoulder and setting him on the ground. Cloud stirred, forcing himself to stand up and standing strong next to Zack. In the end, it was two SOLDIERs verses the attack force from Hell.

Tseng ran forward, jumping from the car while it was still in motion. The soldiers piled out, making a perimeter around Zack and Cloud.

"Stand down, SOLDIER!" Tseng ordered, "We don't need to get bloddy here."

"Do you know what I've been through, Tseng?!" Zack yelled, surprising the Turk. "I'm dead! Five years ago, my best friend betrayed me, went insane, burned down my other best friend's home town, then beat us up enough to allow us to become guinea pigs for Hojo's fricken experiments! Now you surround me, all of you with weapons, and tell me to stand down?! Are you insane?!" Reno, Rude, and Lani were silent. They didn't have anything to say. (Big shock for Reno, I know) Tseng was in charge now. All they could do was watch.

"Don't listen to him, Tseng," came Jet's calm, collected voice. "He's obviously distraught from learning he's nothing more than an experiment." Tseng looked at Jet, anger rising.

"Zack's not an experiment. What the hell are you talking about?!" Tseng said. But, before there was reply, the soldiers all pulled out loaded semi-automatic machine guns. Zack tensed, pulling the Buster Blade in front of him.

"Cloud, Run!" he ordered, running forward. The soldiers opened fired. Cloud turned to run, but suddenly pitched forward, landing back on the ground. Zack thought he'd been hit, but he saw no blood. The sickness had kicked back in. But Zack wasn't as lucky. He felt a bullet hit him in the leg. Screaming in pain, he dropped forward, clutching his leg.

"Move in!" Jet yelled.

"Stay away!" Zack said, using Thunder Materia, he sent a shock wave that knocked everyone back. Zack struggled to his feet, picking Cloud up and running to the hill. His escape was cut off, so he was going to fight to the end. He wouldn't let Cloud die because of him.

"Hold your fire!" Tseng ordered. Jet whipped around, his eyes on fire.

"Why are you contradicting my orders, Turk?!"

"Yes, I am. We're taking these men alive!" Tseng shot.

"Not on your life. We're taking the traitor dead," Jet sneered, waving the soldiers forward and after Zack. Tseng stood there, mortified. Something about the way Jet had spoken had re-awoken old memories of a certain soldier commander he's been struggling to forget.

Reno had caught on too. He was holding he's favored electromagnetic night stick, staring at Jet with both fear and anger in his eyes.

"Move forward, men!" Jet ordered. Zack pushed Cloud forward right at that moment, causing him to crash to the ground and out of harms way.

"NO!" Tseng yelled. But he was too late. Jet powered forward, using the back of his gun like a blade and ramming it into Zack's gut. Zack's blade flew from his hand, landing on the edge of the cliff, standing straight up.

"I said hold your fire!" Tseng screamed. Time seemed to slow as Zack fell to the ground, gun pointed to his head.

"_I have to say goodbye!"_ Zack? Zack was in his head?

"_Aries…Tseng…say goodbye to her…"_

"What?"

"_She always liked you more than me…Say goodbye to her for me…"_

"You're not going to die!"

"_It's too late for that…But Sephiroth was right. He promised he'd come back to kill me for betraying him at Nibilhiem."_

"Zack, you can't do this…"

"_One more thing…Tseng….I am not a clone of Sephiroth…" _

"What?!" Time resumed, and Tseng heard gunshots. He watched in horror as Zack was shot in the head with over fifty shots of lead.

"NO! ZACK!" Cloud screaming from the ground. Tseng looked around, staring at the kid slowly dying on the ground, alone now. He then looked back at Reno.

"Reno…" Tseng said quietly, "Can you keep a secret…? Rude…Lani…can you all keep a secret?" His voice was shaking now.

"Yes sir…" Rude and Lani said. But both were confused.

"Yeah…but why?" Reno asked. He was answered by something he never expected.

"Good…" Tseng said, running forward. Reno then saw that his boss was holding a gun.

"Tseng!" Reno yelled, but to no avail. Jet turned around and was greeted by hot lead, ripping him apart in every aspect. There was no getting up now. Tseng whipped around and started to mow down all the soldiers around him. Rude looked at Lani, then the two of them ran forward to help Tseng out.

"He's a time bomb….the bomb went off…this is the explosion…" Reno muttered, looking at the pale figure of Cloud, who's hands were over his head. He obviously thought the bullets were for him. Finally, the bullets ceased. Reno looked up, seeing a winded Tseng surrounded in a sea of bodies. The only ones still alive were him, Reno, Rude, Lani, and Cloud. Then, to Reno's horror, Tseng put the gun, one bullet left in it, to his head.

"No reason to live anymore…" Tseng whispered, "Might as well end it all.." He as about to pull the trigger when someone ran up and round kicked him, knocking the gun from his hand.

It was Cloud.

"Everyone…deserves a….second chance. You fought for….Zack….So don't…die…" Cloud hissed, crashing to the ground beside his fallen friend. Tseng was silent, looking at the gun laying on the ground.

"Do you need…" he started.

"Leave me alone….I'll die alone…" Cloud said, breathing hard. "Go…away. Live away…from me…" Tseng backed up, wanting to help but knowing nothing of what to do.

Zack stood next to Professor Gast, watching as Cloud made his way slowly towards Midgar.

"It's always the quiet ones….They are the ones who will save us all…" Gast said, putting his hand on Zack's shoulder.

"I'm sorry….Cloud…" Zack whispered. He and Gast then ascended to the Lifestream.

That's when the end began.

"_Where's the Mercenary?!" Barret screamed. The guards were all out cold on the station platform. Immediately after the man screamed, two more soldiers ran onto the platform. Then the Mercenary jumped off of the train, easily and mercilessly killing the two guards and looking around the platform for more people to fight. _

_Two other men and one girl ran forward, looking around._

"_All clear!" Biggs yelled, giving a thumbs up._

"_Right, what Biggs said!" Wedge agreed. Barret wasn't too happy still._

"_Alwight! Let's get ready to blow this rig!" he yelled. Jessie, the only girl, looked back at the Mercenary. He wore the uniform of a SOLDIER. That was one of the reasons Barret hated him. There were more, Jessie was sure of it. _

"_Who's he?" she asked, pointing at the ex-SOLDIER._

"_Right, what's his name?" Biggs retorted. "It's not ex-SOLDIER, is it?"_

"_No…" the Mercenary replied, staring at the Mako Reactor that made up his next mission. The looming building caused a eerie shadow to cross his face. "My name is not ex-SOLDIER."_

"_Then what is it?" Jessie asked. The man smiled, sending shivers down all the living people on the platform's spines. _

"_Cloud Strife." _

* * *

**A/N**: Thank you! 


End file.
